In , I purchased the spectacular property upon which I built Castello di Amorosa. It sat on a hundred-seventy beautiful acres of forest and hills with a stream, a lake, one of the first houses built in Napa County and a great Victorian home where I chose to live. It was my dream property, culminating a search of many years. The purchase also came with a great building permit for a large winery building which had taken the previous owner thirteen years to obtain.
At first, I had no intention of starting another winery- I already had V. My plan was only to replant historic vineyards there. However, throughout my adult life, I had been fascinated with Italian medieval architecture; and, because of my passion- some would say obsession- I had already bought a handful of ancient properties in Italy, including a small castle near Florence now sold , a medieval monastery near Siena now being refurbished and a Medici palace in southern Tuscany, which we are remodeling into a period hotel.
My ideas began to crystallize. I would specialize in making small lots of primarily Italian-style wines, showcase them in an authentic, medieval castle setting and sell them directly to the public, not in stores or restaurants. Since I have never had a television, I had a lot of time on my hands.
In early , I embarked on my project. Concurrently with replanting thirty acres of vineyard on the property to Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot, I began drawing plans for the winery building.
Photo: Jim Sullivan. My initial intent was to build an 8, square-foot building without cellars. Gradually it morphed into , square feet with rooms with four separate levels underground and four levels above! As a hobby, I had spent years visiting and studying medieval architecture, collecting thousand of detailed photos and measurements.
